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Actress McCord tells of sexual assault, recovery

The Associated Press

Posted:
05/29/2014 03:44:06 PM EDT

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FILE - This Oct. 18, 2013 file photo shows hero award honoree actress AnnaLynne McCord at the Recognizing Heroes Awards Dinner and Gala in Los Angeles. McCord says a sexual assault when she was 18 years old pushed her to the brink of suicide. In a first-person article published in the July issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, the "Dallas" and "90210" star, now 26, says she is speaking out to help other women who suffer in silence. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actress AnnaLynne McCord says a sexual assault when she was 18 years old pushed her to the brink of suicide.

In a first-person article published in the July issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, the "Dallas" and "90210" star, now 26, says she is speaking out to help other women who suffer in silence.

In the article, McCord said she had moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career when a friend who was staying in her apartment overnight attacked her as she slept. She did not identify the man.

McCord, who said she kept the rape secret at first, finally disclosed it to friends and family but remained tormented.

In her early 20s, her lingering emotional pain and a fight with a then-boyfriend prompted her to consider taking an overdose of pills. But she resisted and began a gradual recovery, McCord said.

At one point, however, a "90210" plotline in which her character was assaulted led to a "meltdown," she said.

The Georgia native, who credited her recovery to professional help and her work with abuse victims in Cambodia, said she is able to enjoy "profound intimacy" with her partner, actor Dominic Purcell ("Prison Break.")